All You Need is Love: Perspective in Donne's "The Canonization"James Min12th Grade

For some, a leap of faith is easy. Believing in a God comes naturally for some, but for others, it is something that logically seems improbable. What separates the two groups is that one group is willing to use faith as a tool to justify beliefs, while the other group denies faith as a valid justification. However, for those who believe in their religion, their faith is a truth to them because they choose to place trust in that faith. This is the key aspect in making religion relevant: believing makes the concept true to the individual, whether or not it objectively is so. In “The Canonization” by John Donne, the speaker expresses great love for his beloved. This love, however, would not be possible if he did not believe in it so deeply, since believing in an idea is what makes it a truth for an individual.

Throughout the poem, Donne uses the word “love” in the beginning and end line of every stanza. This tactic serves to highlight the belief that love is the start and end of everything the speaker believes, giving the reader insight into what is filling the speaker’s mind. Furthermore, the word “love” is always used in relation to the “my” or the “our.” It is never a floating idea; it is always grounded in a conceptualization...